Sportsmen need respect: Badal

CHANDIGARH, March 4: Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal today emphasised the need of sound sports infrastructure and more respect ...

CHANDIGARH, March 4: Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal today emphasised the need of sound sports infrastructure and more respect and regard to the sportspersons for achieving excellence in world sports arena.

Presiding over an international sports function at village Ghagga, 30 km from Patiala, Badal said that it was unfortunate that the successive previous governments at the Centre and in the states did not pay much attention to this vital field of human resource development.

Badal said the Central and the state governments must make special provisions in the annual plans for creating good play grounds of national and international standards besides giving good food to the players and appropriate status in the society, an official release said.

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The chief minister said his government had laid special emphasis for promoting rural sports and stadia are being constructed at every block-level.

Besides this, youth sports clubs are being activated for promoting sports landscape in the state, he added.

Badal also announced a grant of Rs 25 lakh for the development of the village besides giving assurance for meeting various other demands of the village.

OBC sports meet
The sixth all-India Oriental Bank of Commerce Games will begin tomorrow. The competitions will be conducted in cricket, carrom, table tennis and chess. Managing Director Dalbir Singh will inaugurate the games at the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium tomorrow at 9 a.m.

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Cricket matches will be played at Sector 16 Cricket Stadium, Punjab Engineering College, DAV College and Gurusagar Stadium while carrom and chess at BOC Training College, Sector 17 and table tennis at Sector 23 Table Tennis Hall.